Strength Training For Teenagers; The Start-Up Guide

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR TEENAGERS

So you’ve finally reached that stage where you’re ready to make a change to your body.

There’s a million reasons why, maybe it’s to add muscle mass to your skinny frame, lose some body fat to help improve your self-esteem, get stronger for your given sport, you might need a new challenge or maybe you just want an escape.

Welcome to strength training.

You’re probably thinking “where do I begin?”

Luckily for you, I’ve put together a little guide below to help make the whole process a little smoother, to help you avoid the mistakes I made as a newbie and fast-track your progress.

Is it to simply feel good about yourself and increase your confidence and self-esteem?

Whatever you decide, be sure to stay true to that goal and adjust your eating and training habits accordingly. There’s nothing worse than spinning the wheels and making no progress because you jump from program to program or diet to diet with no real direction. Achieve one goal and then move onto the next.

Knowing your reason why you’re training will come in handy on the days when you’re low on motivation or feeling like not training.

STEP #2 LEARN THE SKILL OF LIFTING

Strength training and lifting weights is a skill, meaning you need to learn and practise these skills just as you would if you were learning to play the guitar.

My recommendation:Take the time to learn from someone with a lot of experience who can teach you how to perfect your form on all of the main lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, pull-ups, rows, lunges).

From the moment you learn these movements, make sure you’re practising them religiously in the initial stages. The quicker you learn how to lift properly, the quicker you’ll see results and also set yourself up for a long and healthy lifting career.

‘Perfect rep, every rep. Quality before quantity’

STEP #3 FIND THE RIGHT PROGRAM FOR YOU

As I mentioned above, it’s extremely important to find a program that’s aligned with your goals and then to stick to it.

The focus should be on progressive overload, meaning that over time you’re aiming to increase the amount of sets, reps or weight that you’re lifting to give the body/muscle a reason to change.

My recommendation: Spend a minimum of 6-8 weeks on your current program before changing things up.

Side note: Your program has to be enjoyable and sustainable. If you don’t enjoy it then you won’t stick to it. Figure out how many days per week you can 100% commit to training and then structure your program around those days.

STEP #7 QUESTION EVERYTHING, NEVER STOP LEARNING

The health and fitness industry is forever changing, there will always be new and improved ways of achieving your goals (to an extent), which is why you should be putting in the time to question everything and learn it for yourself.

The #1 thing that has gotten me to where I am today in the fitness industry is the fact that I’m always eager to learn. Thinking you know everything is the worst thing you can do.

STEP #8 CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY

Consistency will ALWAYS be the key.

Consistency with nutrition, training and recovery is what will ultimately give you the results you’re after.

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